Quebec teachers to train students on how to intervene during an opioid overdose
Some 2,300 high school teachers in four Canadian provinces are now able to train their students to intervene in the event of an opioid overdose.
Just under 800 of these teachers are in Quebec.
The ACT Advanced Coronary Treatment Foundation has added the use of naloxone, the antidote administered nasally to counter the effects of an opioid overdose, to the cardiopulmonary resuscitation and automated external defibrillation program it offers free of charge to high schools across the country.
"Thanks to this training, we have more students who can respond to emergency situations and who sometimes make the difference," said Salim Grim, program manager for the ACT Foundation in Quebec.
Launched in June 2022, the first phase of this training program has now reached 2,300 teachers in 830 high schools in Quebec, Alberta, Ontario and British Columbia. It's estimated that more than 160,000 students could now be trained each year to respond to a suspected opioid overdose.
Among other things, the training enables teachers to teach students what opioids are and how overdoses occur; what naloxone is and how it works; how to recognize a suspected opioid overdose; and how to respond to a possible overdose, including administering a naloxone nasal spray if necessary.
"Opioid overdose response is an emerging issue in Canada in recent years," said ACT Foundation director of operations Jennifer Russell. "It's also related to CPR. It's something that students and even their teachers find completely logical and normal in the course of our training."
According to the Public Health Agency of Canada, almost 6,000 deaths from apparent opioid overdose were reported between January and September 2023.
The Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction notes that 94 per cent of opioid overdose deaths occur by accident, and that young Canadians aged 15 to 24 are the fastest-growing population requiring hospital care due to opioid overdose.
"Training the next generation of good Samaritans starts at school," said Grim. "We started with CPR a few years ago. The defibrillator was added to that training, and opioid overdose training was a logical evolution."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Chad Daybell sentenced to death for killing wife and girlfriend’s two children in jury decision
Jurors resumed deliberations Saturday on whether a man should be sentenced to death after being convicted days earlier of the murders of his wife and his girlfriend’s two youngest children in Idaho.
Pedestrian dies after being hit by train in Brockville, Ont.
Brockville Police says a pedestrian has died following a collision with a train that was heading to Toronto.
Robert Pickton stabbed with toothbrush and broken broom handle: victim's family
The family of one of Robert Pickton's victims says the convicted serial killer suffered an incredibly violent death at the hands of another inmate.
This Calgary home has a giant tree in the middle, and it's for sale
There's a luxury 'tree home' for sale in Calgary.
Panama prepares to evacuate first island in face of rising sea level
On a tiny island off Panama's Caribbean coast, about 300 families are packing their belongings in preparation for a dramatic change. Generations of Gunas who have grown up on Gardi Sugdub in a life dedicated to the sea and tourism will trade that next week for the mainland’s solid ground.
Father who killed one-year-old son with axe may be allowed to travel in southwestern Ontario
A Mennonite father who killed his one-year-old son with an axe may be allowed to travel to parts of southern Ontario in the coming months
'It feels like freedom': Why some Albertans like going nude in nature
Few people can say they accidentally purchased a nude beach — but Shelley can. When she saw a piece of land she could fondly remember camping on was up for sale, she inquired about it and ended up purchasing it. She soon found that there were already inhabitants on it.
Lanny McDonald and a few old Flames take the Stanley Cup on a surprise visit to the man who saved his life
The Stanley Cup was passing through town Friday, and Lanny Legend took it upon himself to take it for a surprise visit.
Trump election victory 'very unlikely,' but 'possible': former FBI director Comey
Former FBI director James Comey says while he believes former U.S. president Donald Trump "will be defeated" in the upcoming presidential election, he doesn’t think it’s a given.